Uncle Tom's Cabin

By: Amanda Wolfgram and Ryan Sklar

Uncle Tom's Cabin

By: Amanda Wolfgram and Ryan Sklar

Thesis

As portrayed in images related to Uncle Tom's Cabin, blacks are viewed and treated differently depending on the respective region of America; however, all blacks wanted the same freedom.

"The Master"

In Kentucky, a pro-slave state, even children are intimidated by and scared of "The Master" because of how society has portrayed the role of white male citizens.

Life in Philadelphia, No. 13

In Philadelphia, located in the north, blacks were considered citizens that were able to enjoy the luxuries of life without being harassed or chastised by white citizens.

Practical Amalgamation (Musical Soiree)

As seen below, black citizens were able to integrate among white people by participating in cultural events. This image was produced by E. W. Clay in New York.

"Saving His Master"

The slave depicted in this picture had been working for this particular master in Kentucky for 10 years in order to obtain his freedom. Unfortunately, his master was dying, consequently making his freedom invalid, so he saved him to preserve his future freedom.

Torturing American Citizens

The slave owner is treating his slave inhumanely and this depicts cruel and unusual punishment, which is against the Constitution for citizen's basic rights.

1843 Almanac Back Cover

The poem at the bottom of this picture essentially says that even though African Americans helped gain freedom for our country, they are still denied basic human rights and citizenship.

Reflection by Amanda Wolfgram

A. One thing I took notice of was the increased prejudice depending on what region of the United States the pictures were from (ie. the North and the South). With that comes the sectionalism from differing views of slavery that would eventually lead to the Civil War. Also, there is a clear division in how blacks were treated based on their respective regions. For example, in the North they were treated with more liberty because slavery was outlawed, whereas in the South they still experienced harsh treatment from whites.

B. Something that was surprising to me was how explicit and accurate the images of slave treatment were. Also, the fact of how far a slave was willing to go in order to gain their freedom was surprising, as seen in "Saving His Master."

Reflection by Ryan Sklar

A. In the images I was able to notice the beginning of a split between the North and the South that led to the Civil War in America. The prejudice in certain regions also played a role in the sectionalism. It is clear that the topic of slavery and the rights of African Americans was very controversial because the south believed slavery was helpful for America while the North believed it was inhumane. In these images, the difference in how blacks were treated depending the region they were in is very obvious. It became clear that the main thing in life that slaves desired was freedom and their own basic human rights.

B. In these images, i was surprised to see the extent that African Americans were willing to go to in order to obtain their freedom, specifically saving their master who tortured them for years. This showed how much freedom meant to the slaves. Also, i was shocked to see how in this time period, people truly believed that torturing other humans, slaves, wasn't cruel and that they could do it with no sympathy.